Talent shows looking to Houston for contestants

'Star Search,' 'Comedy Search' look to Houston for talent

National talent scouts will be rolling into town starting tomorrow, looking for area residents who sing, dance, make jokes or simply look oh-so-fine -- and feel comfortable being on live television.

Makers of the CBS reality series hosted by Arsenio Hall, Star Search, will be at an area Marriott on Friday looking for outstanding dancers, models, junior singers and adult singers.

On Wednesday, the producers of the proposed TV series The Kings and Queens of Comedy Search will be at H'Town's Arena Theatre, hoping to find the standup comedians of tomorrow.

Star Search auditions will be held 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday at the Marriott West Loop, 1750 West Loop South. Details are available at www.cbs.com/starsearch.

In general, junior singers must be solo performers, ages 8-14, while adult singers are 15 and older. Models must be females, ages 16-28. Dance competitors can be individuals or groups of five people or less. All performers must not have had national exposure or professional contracts.

Acts chosen to appear on Star Search will be flown to Los Angeles for the chance to compete live on national television. A grand prize winner in each category receives $100,000.

The Kings and Queens of Comedy Search is the brainchild of Walter Latham, president of Latham Entertainment and the brains behind The Kings of Comedy and The Queens of Comedy tours and films. The contest has yet to find a broadcast home, but that's not expected to be a problem since it already has a sponsor, Miller Lite.

"Walter wants to put together the whole package, start to finish, before presenting it to the networks," his publicist said. "That's just the way he likes to do things."

Auditions are taped and will become part of the reality show. Auditions have been held in Miami, Atlanta, Washington and Chicago. They will conclude next week with tryouts in Houston on Wednesday and Oakland, Calif., on Thursday.

A dozen contestants will be culled from the auditions and will be followed as they compete at several venues across the nation, facing elimination at each location.

Wednesday's audition here will begin at 8:30 p.m. and be hosted by comedian Bruce Bruce. Participants must be at least 21 years old. For more eligibility details, visit www.lathamentertainment.com.

The 12 finalists will join "Queens of Comedy" Monique, Sommore and Adel Givens in performing.

In addition to the national exposure, the winner will receive $25,000.